Monster in Her Eyes
by This.Is.My.Katharsis
Summary: The monks are not pleased with VH. He let Frankenstein go and so as a pointless exercise in control they send him after a werewolf shortly after he killed his love after being one. Can he learn to love someone who possesses the same disease?
1. Chapter 1

Warning: A Big Fat Mary Sue Romance Story. I'm using the guise of a Mary Sue to make a strong statement about relationships between men and women but there will be cheesy romance scenes. Nothing too gory however. Please enjoy. This should effectively get all plot out of the way.

* * *

When Van Helsing arrived in the village he expected the stench of fear that occupied the homes of most monsters but he found it curiously absent. All the villagers went through their tedious daily chores with a slight disease but the misery was not there.

There wasn't really a boarding house in a town that small but the local brewery had a few rooms on the second floor and that was what Van Helsing settled for. That and a pint of the local brew which turned out to be very awful.

Van Helsing discovered this on his first night. He went down to the tavern where tongues tended to be loose around this time of evening and he began roundabout inquiries. He had noticed the fresh graves when he rode into town. "I saw a couple of wolves down in Underland last year. Ugly brutes too, big enough to take down a horse."

He was talking to the bartender but the patron next to him jumped into the conversation without apologizing for listening in. "You think you've seen wolves, you should see them here. A wolf tore apart a whole house and massacred a whole family on the west end of town."

"God rest the Vandermills," another man chorused in raising his glass. The others muttered the phrase somberly and drank.

"Tore apart a house?" Van Helsing inquired.

The drunk nodded. "Everything was overturned or torn in half. It wasn't worth salvaging anything. It was all we could do to get some firewood out of the debris. A whole family's life and belongings and possessions, gone." He shook his head.

The man next to them cut in. "Wish I could have seen the beast. The door was hanging in splinters on the frame, locked from the inside."

"Be glad you didn't see it," another man cut in.

"When was this?" Van Helsing asked.

The drunk thought. "Must have been about two weeks ago."

Van Helsing frowned. That sure sounded like a werewolf but the timing was all off. The full moon had been three weeks ago. The Vatican had said it was a werewolf for sure. It sounded like one; but werewolves were powerless without the full moon to aid them, just peculiarly strong humans.

"Did anyone see the beast?" Van Helsing asked.

"Yes, and it's a miracle that Calcavanti wasn't killed by the beast."

There was a murmur of assent around the room.

"Who's that?"

"The local hunter, Jonathan Calcavanti. The beast's bloody paws led a trail straight to his home. They fought and he managed to drive the beast off."

Well there went the werewolf idea. No human could compete with a werewolf physically. Van Helsing wanted to get his things and go back to the Vatican right then; but he knew the monks would chastise him and since the incident in Transylvania when Van Helsing had let the Frankenstein monster escape, despite orders, the father had been making a point of excising pointless control over Van Helsing. Such as ordering him to this God forsaken town after Van Helsing requested not to be put on werewolves for a while. The father might make him turn right back around despite his logic.

"Where does the man live?"

"On the northern edge of the forest; but you'll be hard pressed to find the man."

"Why is that?"

"With all the hunting he's barely home. The man's a ghost; but he can catch a deer without any trouble."

"Remember that bear he got last Summer?"

Grumbled assent. "Big as a horse." "Born hunter."

"John has promised that he'll kill the beast but in the mean time we're all supposed to stay indoors at night and lock them."

"Didn't do them much good."

Somber silence. Van Helsing paid for his drink and for a few others and went upstairs to sleep. If he was reassured that there was no monster after talking to the man he would leave the man to his job. Maybe it was just a big wolf. Van Helsing had seen stranger things in his line of work.


	2. Chapter 2

So the next morning Van Helsing woke with the sun and made the journey to the small cabin partially hidden in the woods. A smoke shed was set up next to the house and hides had been strung up around the house in trees. Van Helsing thought it curious that the villagers wouldn't steal the hides. Their tone last night when they spoke of their hunter had been one of reverence. Did they think this man a god? Were they all in such awe that they feared him a little? Van Helsing wanted to meet this man.

He knocked on the door to the small cabin. Probably no one was home. The hunter was probably out stalking early morning game. He was about to turn away but to his own surprise the door was opened.

Van Helsing was sideswiped by surprised. He expected a tall man, built solidly, worthy of the villagers' admiration, who possessed the look of a hunter in his eyes, courage, boldness. Basically a skewed version of Van Helsing himself.

Instead a woman opened the door.

Van Helsing looked at his own height and then down. For a moment he said nothing then he took off his hat. "Evening ma'm."

"Not by a long shot," she said with a smile.

Van Helsing shook his head slightly and mentally slapped himself. Born with his foot in his mouth. "I mean good morning."

"I assumed as much. Can I help you with something?" It wasn't rude, the way she said it. Polite, with a kind tolerance, and a certain measure of teasing.

"You already have. I now know what time of day it is."

She smiled and Van Helsing felt a certain measure of pride at that. Born with his foot in his mouth but raised to charm a song bird into his palm.

"I'm looking for the hunter of this village, name Calcavanti."

She nodded. "My husband."

That explained it. This master hunter, the one who had claimed all these furs. He would be married. He would be very sought after by the women and he would be able to choose the most beautiful for his wife and this one certainly was.

She had long, thick, dark hair that had been pulled out of her face and ran down her back in waves without order to them. Her skin was ivory which displayed her arching brows that seemed almost to pose a question. It made her dark gray eyes stand out of her face. It was her eyes that made her beautiful. Not the color or the shape but the life reflected in them. They were vibrant and possessed an energy that radiated off of her.

Her form was long and lean. She was tall, for a woman, and she seemed too solid to be petite. She looked strong. She could be married to this hunter. She could take care of herself while he was away and manage his home properly. One thing was for sure, her husband would have to be feared by the villagers if he were to maintain his claim on her if he were truly absent much.

"Is your husband at home by chance?"

She shook her head. "It's just me. Are you disappointed?" she asked with a smile. It was less coquettish than curious. As though she was less trying to seduce him and more get a feel of him. If any of the village women were satisfied in a relationship it would probably be her. Van Helsing doubted it was flirting.

"Not in the least."

"Who are you?" She asked, tilting her head. "You're obviously not from the village."

"Obviously?"

"You're tall and dark and mysterious. The villagers are simple people. If you are the devil in disguise then I can only ask politely that you take your dark business elsewhere."

"I am not the devil," Van Helsing said with a smile.

"Then what in heaven's name could you be doing in this out-of-the-way town?"

Van Helsing thought a moment. "Just passing through. Is there a way I can find your husband?"

"I'm afraid not. He's hunting in the woods."

"Do you know where? Perhaps I can find him."

"I doubt it. These woods are deep and my husband knows them better than anyone."

"Hm. Do you know when he will return?"

She shrugged. "I couldn't say."

"Does he often leave you for long periods of time?" Van Helsing asked as much to fill silence as for curiosity's sake.

She shrugged, leaning against the door frame. "He's been hunting some wolves lately that have been giving the villagers a lot of trouble."

"Hunting wolves?" he asked politely, feigning innocence.

She smiled. "My husband can hunt anything."

Not a werewolf, Van Helsing thought to himself. "That's a bold claim."

"I'm a bold woman."

"I believe that. I had heard something about wolves when I came into town."

"Yes. The villagers are uneasy. The wolves are behaving oddly; but my husband will make short work of them."

"I'm sure."

"Would you like to come in for a drink Mr.--"

"Harker," Van Helsing responded. He pondered it a moment. "I think I had better not."

She 'hm'ed as though intrigued. "Is there a message I can give my husband for you?"

"No. I only meant to ask about his experience with the wolf."

"Well I can tell you about that."

"Can you?"

"Yes. I was inside when it happened. I saw the whole thing. But I'm curious, why do you care at all?"

Van Helsing was nothing if not a quick thinker and a good liar. "I'm not from around here. The patterns of the animals are strange to me. I only mean to return to my family with stories to tell."

"Ah," she smiled. "That's it, a thrill seeker. You have a wife and children who you capture with stories of far away places?"

"I'm afraid so," Van Helsing said with a smile.

She nodded her head. "Well tell your little ones this: it happened just over there." She pointed to a small clearing surrounded by furs. "My husband was skinning a deer and if he hadn't had that knife in his hand I can't say what would have happened. The beast was huge. Probably seven feet tail to nose, dark black, drenched in blood with gleaming devil's eyes." Her words were cloaked in mystery and she told the story with facial animation. "He attacked my husband and when I heard the yelling I rushed to the window, just in time to see him throw the wolf off of his back. It lunged and bit at him. He slashed at it with the knife and caught it on the nose. Then the demon seemed to take estimation of him before it ran into the woods; but not before it left bloody paw prints on his coat."

Van Helsing was smiling. "You're a good storyteller."

"Anything for your little ones."

"So that was all, only a wolf?"

"Only a wolf?" She acted affronted. "Is that not good enough for you? A killing demon who has already claimed the lives of many? And my poor husband sent off to seek it. I would show a little more sympathy."

"Contraire, it sounds fearsome; an excellent challenge."

She seemed to consider something. "Tell me that you haven't come here to slay the thing."

Van Helsing could lie. He had already claimed possession of a woman and children when he had none but old monks for company. Somehow however it didn't occur to him. "I have."

Her face lost all the expression it held when bantering politely now it was serious. "You must forget this. Leave it far behind you and run as though hell were following your heels."

Van Helsing was surprised by her insistence. "Why? You've said yourself that it was only an animal."

"A killing beast. A freak of its own kind. The thing tore down a door locked from the inside and savaged a family and their home. It's a demon Mr. Harker."

"You do not seem concerned for your husband."

"My husband may be the greatest hunter the world has ever known. This thing is mad. It will kill you if you should attempt this. I am begging you to forget this notion. Leave it to my husband."

Van Helsing wanted to tell her that he had stalked creatures of the night that she could not see in her nightmares. He feared no mortal creature or any immortal for that. He wanted to cry that he was Van Helsing who slayed the Dracula in Transylvania and the Hyde in Paris and many more. But her pleading made him soften.

"Alright. I won't."

She searched his face long and hard. He tried to stay passive in her scrutiny. "You still mean to kill the beast," she said at last.

He nodded. "Yes. Good day Mrs. Calcavanti." Van Helsing, put on his hat, turned on his heel and stalked away but the woman followed him, leaving the door to her home open.

"I won't stand for this." She had to jog to keep up with his brisk stride, clenching her skirts in her hand. "And my husband won't allow it. You are a guest in our village and we won't let you put your life at risk. They've seen enough death and murder and blood. The moment John returns I will send him to you. My husband is not to be taken lightly and if he calls for it then the villagers will gladly light their torches and chase you out of town."

Van Helsing turned around suddenly and she barely managed to stop before running into him; but not before they were uncomfortably close. He leaned down and looked into her gorgeous features. For some reason that escaped him he was frustrated. He would not be bullied by a woman and her absent husband. No matter who this hunter was he had never seen the game that Van Helsing fought on a daily basis. Animals with the minds of humans who thought as fast as their moving teeth and claws.

"I do not know you or your husband Madame; but I assure you that he doesn't scare me. I don't know why you claim it's just an animal until I profess my intentions and then you say it is a demon. And I do not know which this beast is but I assure you its head will be hanging above my fireplace."

She showed no fear; but she could not hide a look of surprise from Van Helsing's hunter eyes no matter how well she hid it. "Tell your husband that he will have to beat me to it."

Once again he touched the brim of his hat and nodded. Before she could object he turned and walked back to the village.


End file.
